for fun: Favorite TJ's Seasonal Items?

[salsah]

We have "TJ's Favorites" theads but I don't think we have a list of favorite seasonal items. since there are so many seasonal items now, i thought it would be nice to know what others have tried and liked (or not liked).

i haven't tried much yet but i am tempted by so much (ginger bread coffee, wintery blend coffee, ginger bread cookies with fudge icing, lots of chocolates (that may just be new, not seasonal), . . .).

so what have you tried that we should stock up on while we can?

[TwinFoxes]

Pumpkin butter, hands down. Delish, and chock full of vitamin A.

[writermama]

Pumpkin bread mix
maple cookies (seasonal, I think)

[Seitvonzu]

i'm really digging the gingerbread coffee this year. i like the winterblend too, but it's more spicy/savory whereas the gingerbread is sweeter to me. the difference b/w the two (not obvious from just looking at the cans front) is that the winterblend has peppercorns ground in...when they both came in whole bean, this was completely obvious, because you'd open the can and see peppercorns! i liked that (they were green & red and pretty), but i'm guessing it turned people off, so i they grind all the winter coffee now- -this probably also makes it more uniform. i dont' know if it's my imagination, but i think the gingerbread is better this year -- maybe from being already ground?

i actually investigated the difference last trip because the crew members couldn't tell me. i went back and told them and they were genuinely interested to know :)

i also like the dark chocolate covered peppermint joejoes. i buy one box a year since i REALLY shouldn't be eating cookies, but i do love them so. they are handsdown the BEST store bought cookie available. i'm curious about both the white fudge covered gingerbread guys and the dark chocolate covered shortbread, but so far (2 trips) i have resisted those.

i keep forgetting about the pumpkin butter people are mentioning! drats! (tj's is a large trip, 40 minutes, w/my toddler).

there were tons of things in the holiday flier that had me going -- oh man! i didn't see that!--- probably good for the budget.

[alexsmommy]

Ugh. Yeah, just went and spent a lot of money of things that are not good for me.

I need to try the pumpkin butter - forgot to grab it...

Peppermint bark, kids love the peppermint Joe-Joe's, got some awesome Belgium fruit ganache filled chocolates this time. Grabbed some cranberry stilton but I haven't tried it yet.

Honestly, I have loved just about everything I have tried, which is dangerous. I see so many great things to try that are so much cheaper than in the gourmet catalogues - and they are great quality and yummy!

[lizzywednesday]

I grabbed a jar of the pumpkin butter before I realized it's sweetened with honey! (I am pregnant and really paranoid about honey right now because it's not usually pasteurized ... and there's a slight risk of botulism. DH is even more paranoid ... even bread made with honey as a yeast-starter makes him wig out.)

Sadly, I'd already opened the jar, tasted and enjoyed it, but since it is honey-sweetened, it was a bit too sweet for me, so I felt a little sick afterwards.

That said, it would be very yummy as a topping for crostini with goat cheese!

We just bought the chocolate-covered peppermint Joe-Joes, but have not yet tried them.

For Thanksgiving, because I love cranberry flavor but DH's family only gets the gelled cranberry sauce in a can (ew, by the way) and I don't know what it's sweetened with, I brought a tub of the cranberry-orange relish. (Yum! I will certainly buy this again.)

I tried the sea-salt caramels (they had an open tin in my store the other night) ... very yummy.

So far, I don't have a true favorite (as we didn't have a TJ's closer than an hour away before October) but I am trying a lot of things based on recommendations from all y'all!

[shawnandangel]

Pumpkin Butter!!!!! I bought a whole case this winter and gave them away in baskets for Christmas. Yummm

[boolady]

We're loving the Winter Blend coffee...it's not sweet, it's got spicy tones of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. DH doesn't like "sweet" flavors in his coffee (though I do), so sweeten it a bit like I normally do.

[melrose7]

Keep them coming. I am so excited to go to TJs next week. I haven't been there in 2 months and am excited to see all the seasonal things they have gotten in now.

[mommylamb]

Pepermint Joe Joes are the best!!!

[octmom]

Does anyone know if they have mint cocoa this year? I loved it last year and looked for it about a month ago on my last visit, but they didn't have it. TJs is about an hour away from me, so I don't get there as often as I'd like.

[TwinFoxes]

Pumpkin Butter!!!!! I bought a whole case this winter and gave them away in baskets for Christmas. Yummm


A case! I like the way you think. I think I'll get a case...for us! ;)

[Seitvonzu]

i'm not sure about the mint hot chocolate-- i didnt' specifically see it. they do have a new "sipping chocolate" listed in the holiday flier-- it sounded really good, but i DO love mint :)

[scrooks]

Pumpkin bread mix! Awesome!!!!
:thumbsup:

[brittone2]

I grabbed a jar of the pumpkin butter before I realized it's sweetened with honey! (I am pregnant and really paranoid about honey right now because it's not usually pasteurized ... and there's a slight risk of botulism. DH is even more paranoid ... even bread made with honey as a yeast-starter makes him wig out.)



I've always been under the impression this is not a problem for adults because of their stomach acidity being unfriendly to botulism vs. a young child's less acidic digestive tract. I would not worry, personally. It is also likely it is already cooked when processed into the pumpkin butter. I kinda doubt they are mixing in raw (which also tends to be more $$) honey in at the end.

[cono0507]

OMG! Just went to Trader Joe's for the first time in over a year. (It is only 20 min away but I never go). Peppermint Jo Jos!!! Wow! You girls were right!!! And my 2 yo had a BLAST pushing her own shopping cart. How have I neglected TJ's for so long?!?!? We'll be back again soon!

[salsah]

OMG! JAnd my 2 yo had a BLAST pushing her own shopping cart.

what? our tj's does not have kids' carts. (just like our target never has the great deals that i see posted here.)

[jerigirl]

We have "TJ's Favorites" theads but I don't think we have a list of favorite seasonal items. since there are so many seasonal items now, i thought it would be nice to know what others have tried and liked (or not liked).

i haven't tried much yet but i am tempted by so much (ginger bread coffee, wintery blend coffee, ginger bread cookies with fudge icing, lots of chocolates (that may just be new, not seasonal), . . .).

so what have you tried that we should stock up on while we can?


I don't have TJ's near me but thanks to all of these threads here, I made a list for my sister to send me. In my box I got 2 boxes of the peppermeint Joe-Joes (not choc covered), a box of the gingerbread men with fudge icing (LOVE these- nice sharp ginger flavor), and a box of the maple cookies. And of course a jar of pumpkin butter. YUM!

[lizzywednesday]

I've always been under the impression this is not a problem for adults because of their stomach acidity being unfriendly to botulism vs. a young child's less acidic digestive tract. I would not worry, personally. It is also likely it is already cooked when processed into the pumpkin butter. I kinda doubt they are mixing in raw (which also tends to be more $$) honey in at the end.

Like I said, this is my own personal paranoia. A lot of it is related to the problem (mentioned in another thread) that the docs have found in our LO on the way, but some of it is related to the docs' "no absolutely not" list of foods.

As it is, I enjoyed the pumpkin butter but found it to be a bit too sweet. It should be a nice counterpoint to crusty bread and goat cheese, though!

[annex]

i'm not sure about the mint hot chocolate-- i didnt' specifically see it. they do have a new "sipping chocolate" listed in the holiday flier-- it sounded really good, but i DO love mint :)

I didn't see mint, either. But they were giving out samples of the sipping chocolate. So so good ...

-Anne

[alien_host]

I just wish most of TJ's cookies weren't "Made in a facility that process nuts" or whatever...so sad that we can't have them!

I noticed a lot of premade appetizers that you toss in the toaster oven, anyone tried these?

[alexsmommy]

I noticed a lot of premade appetizers that you toss in the toaster oven, anyone tried these?

Yep - they're yummy. They seemed to have some new holiday ones but I was in a hurry so I'll have to go back and take a closer look. I usually do these type appetizers, cookies and the mint hot -cocoa while we trim the tree.

[alexsmommy]

what? our tj's does not have kids' carts. (just like our target never has the great deals that i see posted here.)

Bummer. My kids LOVE the kids carts and put their own items in them.

[jent]

I grabbed a jar of the pumpkin butter before I realized it's sweetened with honey! (I am pregnant and really paranoid about honey right now because it's not usually pasteurized ... and there's a slight risk of botulism. DH is even more paranoid ... even bread made with honey as a yeast-starter makes him wig out.)


Brittone has it right, adults are less susceptible to botulism so honey is considered safe for adults. (I think the explanation has more to do with the colonization of "good bacteria" in the gut, but I really forget the details). The toxin is also destroyed by high temperatures. I would definitely not worry about products with a small amount of honey, especially ones that are fairly processed (eg, like baked bread).

[MMMommy]

I keep looking out for the mint cocoa every time I go, but have yet to see it. Only see the sipping chocolate.

I just bought a box of the dark chocolate covered shortbread stars. They are good, but of course pale in comparison to the dark chocolate covered mint joe joe's!

[DrSally]

I've always been under the impression this is not a problem for adults because of their stomach acidity being unfriendly to botulism vs. a young child's less acidic digestive tract. I would not worry, personally. It is also likely it is already cooked when processed into the pumpkin butter. I kinda doubt they are mixing in raw (which also tends to be more $$) honey in at the end.

:yeahthat: That's what I thought too. I didn't avoid honey while preg or Bfing, but I didn't give it to my kids under 1 yo.

[DrSally]

I just wish most of TJ's cookies weren't "Made in a facility that process nuts" or whatever...so sad that we can't have them!

I noticed a lot of premade appetizers that you toss in the toaster oven, anyone tried these?

The holiday cookies I've found that we can have are the Pillsbury holiday themed cookies on a tray, ready to bake. Not the slice and bake, but the ones with a holiday picture that are already in little circles. They are peanut free.

[DrSally]

Pumpkin bread mix
maple cookies (seasonal, I think)

ARe you talking about the maple leaf cookies? They've vecome a fav of mine since I tried them a few months back. I didn't know they were seasonal? It think I started buying them in Oct.

[salsah]

Does anyone know if they have mint cocoa this year? I loved it last year and looked for it about a month ago on my last visit, but they didn't have it. TJs is about an hour away from me, so I don't get there as often as I'd like.

I saw it today.

[salsah]

I went to tj's today and picked up the gingerbread coffee (i'll probably try the wintery next). I found a cranberry apple butter too -- should be nice in turkey sandwiches.
I resisted all of the yummy cookies, candies, and chocolates. I saw the sipping chocolate and mint cocoa but resisted those as well . . . for now.
I am considering trying the "oven ready" cranberry and apple stuffed turkey breast (with the fresh meats). I don't why it was calling out to me today. probably because i didn't feel like cooking.

i am pretty sure that i will cave soon and try everything!

does anyone know when is out last chance to try these seasonal items?

[Mom Magic]

I bought the cranberry apple stuffed turkey breast last week and was really disappointed. It was totally dry, and I was really careful about using a meat thermometer and cooking it exactly to the temperature they directed. Coincidentally, the next day, I saw an entry on this blog: http://blog.cookingwithtraderjoes.com
that talked about how this turkey breast is really dry when you cook it according to the directions (so it wasn't just me...), but if you sear it in a pan first to seal the exterior, before baking, it comes out great and juicy. Wish I had seen that first!

Also love the cranberry apple butter, but note that it is not sweet to use on toast, etc. It is perfect for roast chicken, turkey sandwiches, etc, like you would use a chutney.

And of course the chocolate-covered peppermint jos jos go without saying....

Andie
DS 1/2000